Of Night and Day
by Siru Drawoh
Summary: His color was like night and day. Black and gold covered his body. Life had been cruel to him, and now he was out to find out why he was alive.
1. As the Sun Sets

As the Sun Sets

Life was cruel. This he knew all too well. He was alone in a world full of oddities. He understood none of the strange things life-forms did in their daily lives. Too many times he had been caught up in something he had no idea how to handle. In this world, full of sadness and decay, the hedgehog was alone, and would be until the end of existence. The hedgehog did not know why he was brought to life, what his purpose was, and why he suffered like he did. The last time he had tried to find the answers to these questions, he found nothing. All his life was, and all it ever will be, is confusion and perpetual anger and fear, a fear so primal that it would cause him to lash out and destroy anything he didn't understand. This was the same fear that lead to intolerance in man, fear of those who were different. The hedgehog had witnessed his fair share of intolerance, mostly directed toward him. People were scared of him because of his brute strength and his spiteful gaze. No one would ever understand him, and he had come to terms with that.

He stood upon a hill, watching the sunset as he pondered all these thoughts. Something had caught his eye a day ago. In the newspaper he saw an article on a blue hedgehog. As soon as he saw the picture of this hedgehog, he felt an odd familiarity. The hedgehog felt he had seen this hedgehog before, and even could have been considered a comrade in the hedgehog's eyes. He saw short glimpses of images in his head, of the blue hedgehog and what appeared to be him fighting a great menace to the planet he stood upon. He had spent the last day tracking down the blue hedgehog, hoping to find some information on who he was and if he knew the distressed hedgehog. "Sonic," he said to himself, "do I know you? Why does your name sound so familiar, as if it once had a place in my vocabulary, as if I had both cursed the name and blessed it?"

The hedgehog did indeed know this "Sonic", for the being who stood upon that hill was Shadow the Hedgehog, though he was not the Shadow the Hedgehog that fought alongside Sonic against the Biolizard. He was a different being. This Shadow had black fur with gold streaks. This Shadow had no purpose in this world, no right to live here or see the sights of nature as other living things had. This Shadow had too been a creation of science, but not of the same nature. He was a duplicate, a fake. This Shadow was an android, or a cyborg to be more accurate. He was a creation of the man known as Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, a creation used to harness the awesome power of the Ultimate Life-form.

The black and gold hedgehog watched the sunset for a few more hours before he decided to go look for Sonic again. He knew where he was currently residing, and was looking forward to the confrontation with the blue familiarity. Hopeful he was that he would finally discover who he was, his purpose in life, and all that he had gained and lost in his fight for the world. The memories that he had, he claimed as his own, and the name that he remembered for the figure in his memories, he too had claimed his own. He now saw fit to call himself "Shadow the Hedgehog", though he had no right to do so. His life was a lie, and what was in store for the fake was going to be far from what he had hoped for. He thought his life was meaningless and cruel now, what it would be afterward would be too much for the false Shadow to handle.

He skated to town, a smile on his face. "Sonic," he said to himself, "I look forward to our meeting. I hope you know who I am, and maybe even that you're my friend. I would like to have someone to talk to as the sun sets."


	2. The Heart of the Weak

The Heart of the Weak

Sonic was lounging around Tail's place, waiting for the twin tailed fuzzball to finish with his work. He had invited tails to go with him for some grub, his motive was that by inviting Tails along, he could persuade him to pay for his food, as Sonic was out of money. Little did Sonic know, there was something stalking him, something on his trail. This thing would be a great annoyance to Sonic. It was probably the most dangerous thing to him right now. Nothing else struck as much fear into anything or anyone as this being did. It was Amy, as usual, doing her daily routine of Sonic stalking. Indeed, Amy was the most fearsome thing the group could imagine at the moment. Everyone agreed that Dr. Eggman was too incompetent to pose much of a threat, as they beat him every time he tried to conquer the world.

"Hurry up Tails," Sonic said louder than usual, "I have this tingly feeling running down my spine, and I want to leave before whatever's causing it shows up to ruin my good mood." Sonic didn't know that it was Amy that was causing the tingling, but he didn't completely dismiss the possibility.

"Just a second Sonic, I'm almost done!" Tails was working on another Tornado, one that could go faster than Sonic, because Sonic almost always seemed to get into trouble, and Tails wanted to make sure to get there in time for when he did.

"Mrrgh, okay," was all Sonic could think to say. He would have easily said something condescending to someone else, like Knuckles or Shadow, but he had a hard time being the cheerful dick to Tails like he was to others.

There was a faint noise, quieter than the sound a pin makes when it falls to the ground, and Sonic heard it. He spun around quickly in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his right side, and found himself being tackled to the ground by a pink monster. The blue hedgehog yelled in fear as he hit the floor, fearful for his life. "Don't kill me, kill Tails instead! I'm too young to die!"

"Oh thanks Sonic! I'm younger than you are!" The fox spotted Amy latched onto Sonic and made a rather stupid looking face. "Oh, hi Amy. Should have known it was you who tackled Sonic."

"Hi Tails," Amy responded rather unenthusiastically, too focused on Sonic to give a proper greeting, "Hi Sonic. Did you miss me?"

"I think you broke some ribs this time, let me up will ya?" Sonic freed himself from Amy's death grip and sat up, holding his left side, the side that smashed against the floor. "I knew things were getting too uneventful. When that happens you usually come around to make things interesting."

"So you did miss me?" Amy's face lit up with excitement.

"Ehh, I suppose I might've, if just a little bit. Me and Tails were just about to go get some food. I figure you'd tag along anyway so I'll be nice and ask you if you wanna come."

"Of course I'd like to! I think this is like the first time you've actually invited me to go somewhere with you! This is great! The next thing you know we'll finally be getting married!"

"Woah woah woah Amy, slow down. Don't expect so much so fast, be grateful for what you have now." Sonic was humoring her of course, as he had no plans to ever get married to her, or even date her for that matter.

"Ooookay Sonic. Whatever you say." There was an obvious amount of sarcasm in her voice. Sonic ignored it just like he commonly ignores her.

"Okay, I'm finally done," Tails shouted. "You guys ready to go eat?"

"Of course Tails, I starving like a… a thing that's starving! Let's move out!"

"Yay," Amy shouted in reply, jumping around Sonic. She was highly energetic. Sometimes it was that energy that would make her the most annoying.

As they left, Sonic thought he sensed something not right in the world. After the feeling went away and he didn't feel it again, he dismissed it and went with his friends to get some food.

The false Shadow stood atop Tails' house, watching Sonic leave with his friends. After a few minutes of observation and mental preparation for the conversation to come, he jumped off the building and walked after the blue hedgehog. He started to grow more nervous every step, eventually breaking into a sweat and he started to shake. 'It's now or never,' the fake thought to himself. He came within earshot of Sonic and his friends and prepared to speak. "Excuse me, Sonic?" He had finally spoken up, his shakes increased. Sonic turned around, at first expecting Shadow due to the voice, but got a rather grim look on his face when he saw that the color scheme was not like Shadows. The expression on his face frightened the fake Shadow, it was something he did not expect. The copy rationalized the expression as one of surprise, as in what few memories he had, it appeared that he had died after the fight with the Biolizard. Soon, the other two creatures that were with the blue hedgehog turned around to see Shadow imitator, with looks of surprise and fear on their face. This too caused a bit of fear to arise in the fake.

"Wha… Who are you?" Sonic finally said.

"I… I was hoping you could help me figure that out. My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, do you remember me?"

"You… You're not Shadow!" The pink hedgehog had said those words, and those words crushed the heart of the false Shadow…


	3. The Radiant and the Fake

The Radiant and the Fake

"What? What do you mean I'm not Shadow!?" He had started to get angry in his fear. What the pink hedgehog said was unforgivable. How could she say such a thing!? "Of course I am Shadow! How could I not be Shadow! Who are you?" The panic started to overtake the fake.

"You aren't Shadow! Shadow has red streaks and he knows who I am! He remembers everything and you don't! How could you say you are Shadow? Just who are _you_?" What that pink annoyance was saying couldn't be true. He had to be Shadow. She said that he remembers everything? So then, there must be an impersonator around here. He _knew _that he was the real Shadow. There was no other explanation.

"I am the real Shadow the Hedgehog! The person you speak of must be an imposter! Take me to the fake at once!" What the false Shadow didn't know was that this so called "imposter" was present. He had been watching the whole event unfold. He had been following the fake Shadow since he entered the town, seeing what he was doing and just what he was after. Shadow did not initially want to step into the situation so soon, but after this fake had called him out and claimed him an imposter, Shadow had enough. The black hedgehog jumped from the rooftop in front of the black and gold fake as he was approaching Amy threateningly, before Sonic could act.

"I am the one she speaks of fake. I am the true Shadow the Hedgehog. The words she speaks are the truth. You are nothing but an imitation created by someone who clearly didn't have the scientific skills or knowledge of my creator, Dr. Gerald Robotnik. Stand down or I will prove to you which one of us is the real Shadow." The black and red hedgehog's speech stunned the imitation hedgehog. Seeing this being who called himself Shadow triggered more of the hidden memories within the fake. These memories confirmed that this Shadow was indeed the real Shadow, and that he was nothing more than a cheap imitation created by the originals grandson. The news broke the imitations mind, altering him into a state of panic.

"No," he said, "how could it be this way? Why, why have I suffered through so much, all to be just a fake? You. If you weren't here, there'd be nothing in my way of being the one and only Shadow. If I make you disappear, then I would be Shadow!" The insanity had started to overcome him. To be not only a creation of lesser quality, but to also be forced to endure the pain of it all had destroyed him. The once hopeful hedgehog was filled with nothing but despair now. He had to be something more than a fake. He decided he would be the one who killed the original, proving that while he may not be the original, he was the superior of the two black hedgehogs.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you hedgehog," Shadow warned, "you may be a copy of me, but I have no quarrel with you. If you wish to end your life then strike me. Otherwise stand down. While I'm not exactly happy with having a look-alike, I may be able to help you but only if you stop your antagonistic behavior and calm down." Shadow did not know why he didn't just kill the pathetic imitation where it stood, but he knew he couldn't just kill it. If he did, he would be no better than the humans who tried to dispose of him all those years back. It wouldn't be fair not to give this thing a chance since it clearly shows the ability to feel emotions.

"No one can help me. No one…" The broken android fell to his knees, tears raining down onto the street. This just added more truth to the other Shadow's words. The real Shadow wouldn't break down like this. The Shadow android let all the built up sadness flow out of him. He had kept his anguish pent up inside for far too long. The release was both a relief and a burden to him.

Sonic walked toward the fake Shadow. He knelt in front of the broken being, feeling remorse. Sonic could only imagine what it felt like, to spend your entire life trying to find out who you are only to be informed that you are a fake. He put his hand on the false Shadow's right shoulder and spoke. "We can help you. If you let us, we can help you find out everything about yourself. Your creator, your purpose, everything. You need to let us help you though, and show us we can trust you." Trust. That word echoed through the imitation's head. He had trust in someone before, but they broke that trust. Could he trust Sonic? The memories that didn't belong to him told him that he could trust Sonic. That he could trust these people who stood before him. The fake looked up at Sonic, with a grim but thankful look.

"You'd really try to help me? Why?" He still couldn't understand why either Sonic or the real Shadow would want to help him. It didn't make sense, just like most things didn't make sense to him.

It was Shadow who spoke next. "Yes, we would try to help you. Normally I wouldn't bother with it, but I think it's the right thing to do here." What Shadow said not only confused Sonic and his friends, but also himself. 'Perhaps hanging around these people is making me soft,' he thought to himself.

The imitation got to his feet. Never before had he met people so selfless. For once, he thought that there may indeed be some good in the world that had treated him so badly. "Th-Thank you… I guess these memories don't lie. You are a good guy Sonic."

"Yup," Sonic replied, "I'm the greatest good guy you'll ever meet."

"And the most annoying," Shadow said, rolling his eyes.


	4. Worth Nothing

Worth Nothing

Sonic, Amy, and Tails were at their restaurant of choice, along with two previously uninvited guests. Shadow was helping himself to some udon while the other guest, the imitation Shadow, was fiddling with some breadsticks. About half an hour ago they had befriended the false Shadow, and took him along to get some food. "What are these," he inquired.

"They're called breadsticks. You eat them, not play around with them." Shadow seemed irritated with the imitation's antics, but Shadow almost always seems irritated.

"But they're kinda fun to play with. You could fight with 'em. You know, like sword fight?"

"I'm not going to fight you with breadsticks so don't even ask."

"Aww, but it would be fun!"

"Absolutely not."

"You're no fun…"

"Tell me about it," Sonic finally said. He had ordered about 5 chili dogs. When he had asked Tails if he could pay for them, Amy pulled out a rather large amount of money and offered to pay for his meal, to which Shadow responded with "You're paying for mine if you're paying for his." She reluctantly agreed to.

After everyone had eaten, they tried to decide where to go next. Shadow said he was sticking with the imitation for the day so as to keep an eye on him while the imitation wanted to go with Sonic, so Shadow was a reluctant member in their daily shenanigans. Amy had plans with Cream later on, so she was gone by the afternoon. The boys decided (without Shadow's input) to play a game of soccer. The teams consisted of Team Sonic, which was Sonic and Tails, and Team Buzzkill, which was obviously Shadow and the fake. Eventually, the game degraded into senseless violence when Sonic tripped Shadow, who then punched Sonic in the face. The fight which proceeded injured 12 people, destroyed 2 buildings, and maimed Tom Cruise.

When they ran out of things to do, the group sat on the side of a street daring one another to do stupid things. Shadow flipped off oncoming traffic frequently, loving the shocked looks of the humans behind the wheel as the saw one of their heroes flipping them off. One fanboy acted like he caught the flip off and… well he did something disturbing with it… Shadow then stopped flipping people off.

It was getting late when Sonic and Tails decided to head back to Tails' house. The imitation and Shadow went with them to the house, where Shadow then raided Tails' fridge, leaving only a few grapes. Shadow's excuse for it was the light meal he had at the restaurant. Sonic and Tails played a few video games, went online and posted some spam messages in an "Eggman Rights" forum, and then proceeded to play childish games like thumb wars, mercy, and rock paper scissors slaps, Sonic winning each time. The fake Shadow sat on the couch the entire time, lost in thought. It wasn't until a few hours later that anyone said anything to him.

"You've been quiet for awhile," Sonic finally said to the imitation, "something on your mind?"

"I've been thinking about things. Mostly what to call myself."

"And what did you come up with?"

"I'm going to call myself Zero. That'll be my name from now on."

"Why Zero," Shadow had butted in. He was rather curious as to the reason the imitation picked the name Zero.

"I picked Zero because it represents exactly what I am. I'm worth nothing, and zero is nothing."

"That's a rather interesting interpretation. You must have a lot of time to think about things like this."

"I suppose I do," replied the android now christened Zero.


	5. Beautiful Sneak

Beautiful Sneak

The next day, Zero found himself waking up in the bathroom. There was a few blankets and pillows in there, so he figured he didn't fall asleep while using the bathroom. He walked toward the living room, taking the makeshift bed with him so he could put it up when he knew where the materials would go. He saw Sonic sleeping in the computer chair, face using the keyboard as a pillow. Tails must have been in his room at the moment as he wasn't in the living room. Shadow was sitting on the couch watching something graphic on the television when he turned to Zero.

"Good, you're up. We'll be leaving shortly, so get ready."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to go meet a few people. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it."

Zero wondered what was going to happen today. He was starting to get nervous again, he wasn't good at meeting new people. So much had happened in one day. He found a chance to find out who he was, found Sonic, then learned he was nothing more than a copy of something much greater. He had broken down, lashed out, gained some friends, and obtained a new name. These events had left Zero a new person, though in his mind, he was still nothing more than an imitation. On the inside, he was still distressed. He didn't know when this feeling of worthlessness would end. Sure, he felt bad before, but he never felt like this. His right arm started to hurt, so he grasped it with his left hand. When he felt grabbed his arm, he felt something like a machine in it. Zero started to panic. He knocked on his shoulder and found that his shoulder bone felt like metal. This raised Zero's fears. "Was I in an accident at some point in time," he thought to himself. He felt around his left arm, but everything seemed like it was pure bone. "I wonder what that is all about…"

Shadow was standing at the door, waiting for Zero to be ready to leave. He was going to introduce him to Rouge and Omega, his team, in hopes that by getting acquainted with them, they might be able to help him with his problems when Shadow wasn't in the mood to do much, or was doing his own searching. He suspected that the good old Doctor had something to do with this imitation. After all, he had created an army of Shadow Androids and had once almost convinced him that he was an android himself.

Zero finally was ready to go. He saw Shadow waiting at the door, his belongings in hand. "Heh, sorry I took so long Shadow."

"No worries, you completely prepared?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Alright, it's going to be a long trip. Your air skates working properly?"

"Yeah, last time I checked, they were fine."

"Okay, try to keep up Zero."

"Will do! Let's go! I'm ready for anything you throw at me!"

"I hope you are."

Shadow wasn't kidding, it was a rather long trip. Apparently, whoever it was Shadow was going to have Zero meet, they were on an island far away from the city. "They aren't usually out this far from the city, Rouge has a house there, but they had to do some work today."

"They? So this Rouge isn't the only one I'm meeting today?"

"No. I'm introducing you to both Rouge and E-123 Omega. They're two good friends of mine and I believe they'll be invaluable to your search for who you are. I know they helped me quite a bit."

"Hmm… Okay then, how long until we get there?"

"Not much longer now. Probably ten or fifteen minutes."

"Gotcha!"

They arrived on the island not long after their conversation. The island was quite green and luscious, the sights of which captivated Zero. He had never been on an island before, at least, not that he could remember. He had never seen anything so beautiful before. He wasn't aware that he was about to see something that would dwarf the beauty of nature.

"We're here Rouge," Shadow said as he and Zero walked into a tent that was at the center of the island.

"Oh, hi Shadow! You got here a lot faster than I expected. Who's this?"

"This is Zero, he's the hedgehog I told you about over the phone last night."

"Wow, he does look a lot like you. You sure he isn't the product of an alcohol induced night?" Rouge was intentionally egging Shadow on. She knew that this hedgehog was a copy of Shadow, nothing more, nothing less.

"Wow Rouge, you're so not funny," Shadow said with a smirk. Zero had said nothing this entire time and had made no motion to speak. He kept looking at Rouge, unable to look away. He thought she was beautiful, more beautiful than the wondrous nature he had recently seen. She was probably the most beautiful thing he had seen in his life. The memories that Shadow had of her started to come to him, little by little. He got a better understanding of her soon, and was confident that he would be able to speak to her easily.

"So Goldy," Rouge said to Zero, "you gonna say something or is Shadow gonna tell me all about you?"

"Uhh," Zero tried to respond," umm… Moo?"

"Moo? What the hell is going through your head right now Zero?" Shadow was obviously entertained with what Zero had said. His guess was that he said moo because he was thinking about Rouge's chest a little more than he should be.

"Uhh, I didn't mean to say moo. Got uhh, caught up with some of your memories coming to me. Made me confused and I forgot what I was going to say." He was rather embarrassed. The first thing he had said to Rouge was moo… How was he going to make up for the lousy first impression?

"Okay then Goldy," Rouge said, Goldy sticking as her nickname for him due to his gold streaks, "what were you gonna say?"

"Umm, hi I'm Zero?"

"Well… Okay then, I'm Rouge. I'm a friend of Shadow's."

"I assumed as much. I hope my saying moo didn't make you think of me as a rather weird person."

"Oh, no worries Goldy, I don't find you any weirder than Shadow here."

Neither Shadow nor Zero knew how to take that statement.


End file.
